Mail bags are well known and are used to store mail as it is carried e.g. from a collection point to a sorting office and between sorting offices. In use in sorting offices the mail bags are supported open in a frame so that mail may be readily thrown into them. To achieve this it is the practice to provide each mail bag with a plurality of (usually four) metal D-rings at equi-spaced locations along the edges of the mouth of the bag which are engaged by hooks in the frame. The D-rings are attached to mail bags by being stitched into a fold midway along the length of a swathe of fabric (which to provide adequate strength has usually been formed by pre-folding and prestitching) the two ends of the swathe being located on either side of the top edge of the bag (with the D-ring substantially in the plain of that edge) and stitched onto the fabric of the bag.
To ensure that the mouth of the bag tends to stay open whilst it is in the frame (particularly when it is relatively empty) the edge of the mouth of the bag--to which the D-rings are attached--is usually provided with a stitched in rope or cord which, whilst being sufficiently flexible to allow the bag to be closed, acts to hold the mouth open whilst the bag is held by the hooks in the frame. This rope or cord is usually located in a top hem provided for the fabric of the mail bag as the bag is being made up.
Thus it will be seen that the manufacture of a mail bag necessarily includes a number of steps which need to be performed before the bag can be made up. These may be summarized as follows:
Manufacture of the D-ring supports; PA1 Thereafter the manufacture of a mail bag requires the further steps of: PA1 Thus it will be seen that the manufacture of a complete mail bag takes, on the above analysis, nine separate operations--and it is to be noted that thus analysis does not include the folding, stacking and transportation of the part made bag and D-ring supports, between operatives performing each of the noted operations.
1. Slitting the fabric into appropriate width swathes, PA2 2. Folding over the edges of the swathes and stitching along the side edges of the swathe, PA2 3. Cutting the swathes to length and at the same time heat sealing the ends of the cut lengths, and PA2 4. Folding the cut swathes over the straight arm of the D-ring and stitching across the swathe to hold the D-ring in position, PA2 6. Cutting the bag fabric to the correct length (it is assumed that it is provided at the correct width), PA2 7. Accurately folding and stitching the cut fabric to provide a top hem at the mouth and side and bottom seams of the bag, PA2 8. Fitting a rope or cord into the hem formed at the bag mouth, and PA2 9. Locating the free ends of the fabric of the D-ring support to either side of the top of the bag mouth and then stitching those free ends onto the fabric of the bag,
It will be seen from the above the known type of bag is that it is costly to produce--in terms both of materials (bag fabric, rope or cord, metal D-rings and the additional fabric required to form the swathes holding the D-rings on the mail bag) and of operations required to make up the bag.
Again, the known mail bags which include a rope or cord, D-rings and additional fabric required to hold the D-rings in position are significantly heavier than might otherwise be the case making the cost of transporting the mail bag greater than might otherwise be the case (whether filled or unfilled) particularly when it is being transported as air cargo.
A first object of this invention is the provision of a new form of mail bag which alleviates and/or overcomes these drawbacks.
A second object of the invention is to provide a support for a mail bag which may be readily attached to the mail bag at a desired location to enable the bag to be supported and which is of significantly less weight than the known, D-ring supports, used at present.
A third object of the invention is to provide a method of making mail bags which is significantly less costly--in terms both of the material used and the number of operations required--than is the case with the known mail bags.